The Doorish Regions
The Doorish Regions are a polity located Antispinward of the former Sancordian Empire, and Spinward of the Zz'Vor and the Mactier, whose de facto government is called the Hyperspace Cartel. The Doorish as a species are relatively new to hyperspace technology, and their influence at present does not much extend past the five sectors containing their major colonies. The vast majority of the Regions' inhabitants are Doorish, but as Doorish political organization lacks any concept of national citizenship, small populations of other species are common on Region worlds. The Hyperspace Cartel The Doorish have never organized into nation-states. The chief sociopolitical constructs of the Doorish have traditionally been dynastic, with relatively fluid clan structures wherein loyalty and obligation are derived from biological or adoptive kinship. These dynastic/familial structures are beginning to lose ground to corporations, which first appeared perhaps two centuries ago as an outgrowth of the chief non-dynastic organizations of the day—religious cults/orders and organized crime. The Hyperspace Cartel is a relatively diverse but tightly bound coalition of several corporations and dynasties, united by their communal monopoly on hyperspace technology and antimatter production. The Cartel does not directly govern any of the major worlds of the Regions. Indeed, none of the worlds even has a central government to speak of. The Cartel instead leaves the worlds of the Regions to their own devices, funding its activities and military with trade and with fees for transporting passengers and cargo. The Cartel does, however, keep extremely close tabs on the populace, utilizing both orbital observations and its considerable intelligence network to watch for threats, particularly those to its hyperspace and antimatter monopolies. Detection of forbidden technology or aspects of its toolchain brings swift corrective action, ranging from seizing the persons and effects of the parties involved to orbital bombardment of an entire city. Any understanding of the Doorish Regions must be predicated on comprehending the peculiarities of this arrangement. Although the Hyperspace Cartel can be thought of as a government, it does not perform most of the functions typically associated with one. It maintains a warfleet and a military, and it can meaningfully conduct diplomacy, but there is no pretense that the Cartel represents anything or anyone but itself. A typical Doorish might well never (knowingly) meet an actual member of the Cartel, despite living her entire life under the Cartel's watchful eye. Although the Cartel's response to violations of its interest might seem draconian, most Doorish are (relatively) unresentful of the Cartel, considering it to be far less intrusive than most foreign governments. History For the history of the Doorish as a people or as a species, see: Doorish. The history of the Regions as a polity is inseparable from the history of the Hyperspace Cartel. The Doorish achieved spaceflight only a few centuries ago. Precisely when they achieved orbit and when they broke it is not currently known, although it is hoped that Cartel listening posts in neutral space may be able to observe it happen at some point in the next few decades. WIth the except of Oldworld itself, the seven major systems of the Regions were colonized in the following decades by sublight sleeper ships flying towards unscouted but likely stars. Several sleeper ships which set out for systems which later proved to have no habitable planets remain in flight, bound either for unknown destinations of their own or returning to Oldworld system in failure. About sixty years ago, in roughly 2190, Iase traders sold hyperspace technology to several groups of Doorish in the Greensky system. Realizing the implications of the technology, a scramble ensued to be the first to construct workable hyperspace warships, while preventing the others from doing so. The Cartel Wars lasted for five years, from 2192 to 2197, as factions attacked or bombarded rivals' nascent antimatter facilities. Biospheric damage was light, since the vast majority of attempts at antimatter plants were constructed on asteroidal bases. Although not particularly bloody, the Cartel Wars retain a special place in Doorish cultural consciousness, with brave scientists, technicians, and soldiers occupying a niche similar to that occupied by Depression era private detectives or cowboys among North American humans. Finally, in 2197, several groups successfully tested home-built hyperdrives. After some initial skirmishes with hyperdrive retrofitted warships, it was realized that hyperspace technology could not be taken from anyone who had successfully implemented it—they could simply escape and come back at some later, probably inconvenient, moment. The five corporations and three dynasties that had workable hyperdrives conducted negotiations in orbit around Goodworld. It took only two days to reach an understanding—the genie was out of the bottle as far as those eight groups were concerned, and they would have to band together if they wanted to prevent further spread. Hostages were exchanged, and within six months, the newly formed Cartel's warships (sublight but numerous,) had crushed the few other hyperdrive programs worth considering. The current system developed quickly following the conclusion of the Cartel Wars; as the original hostage exchange was replaced by new bonds of kinship and corporate membership. The original eight groups have blurred almost to the point of making distinctions meaningless; most Cartel members are nominally affiliated with more than one, and affiliation with all eight is not uncommon. The lesser corporations and dynasties which serve but are not strictly members of the Cartel began accumulating quickly as the new power structure became apparent. Apart from the blurring of its constituent groups, the slowest aspect of the present status quo to develop was the intelligence service. Although the Cartel (and its constituent groups before it) have always employed spies, the realities of keeping a close watch on seven heavily inhabited planets, countless small moons, and innumerable asteroid and orbital habitats necessitated something more. It was some time before Doorish Intelligence began to institutionally resemble its present form as the preëminent intelligence service of civilized space. The key date in this transformation came in 2210, when the Cartel's council internally acknowledged that intelligence gathering was their chief business. While the money might be made in trade and in shipping, everything depended on the monopoly, and the monopoly was protected by intelligence. Today, only the oldest Doorish remember a time before the Cartel. Sectors 4126 - Oldworld Sector The Oldworld Sector, named for the functional homeworld of the Doorish, lies just Spinward of the Pleiades. Although the sector as a whole is densely populated, the center of population remains Oldworld itself. Oldworld is a deeply unpleasant planet whose surface is subject to harsh radiation, frequent seismic activity, and unpredictable weather. Oldworld's population is more homogeneous than other Doorish worlds, as it is unattractive to all but the most desperate of expatriates and immigrants of other species. The vast majority of the population lives in relative squalor, spending their lives in the partially subterranean concrete warrens that shield the Doorish from the vicissitudes of their world. Those with the option of living elsewhere generally do, either in the colonies or in space. 4225 - Greensky Sector Greensky is the most established of the Doorish colony systems, though not the oldest. Originally settled around 2120 by sublight sleeper ships, the Greensky system was the site of the Cartel wars. Despite this, it would be only partially accurate to consider Greensky the home system of the Cartel, since many of the founding factions were first generation immigrants, and Greenskiers are not disproportionately represented in today's Cartel. Although the most salient feature of Greensky at the time of its settlement was its atmospheric color, today it is best known for its wormhole terminus, which connects to the Iase Free Trade Zone. As such, Greensky is the chief interface between the Doorish and civilized space at large, (the Zz'Vorr and Mactier excepted,) and is the chief center of extra-Regional trade and home to the Region's largest alien immigrant population. It should be noted that although Greensky is significantly more habitable than Oldworld, it still remains marginal. The surface is wintry, with most surface water remaining frozen most of the lengthy year. Native life consists entirely of hardy bacteria and frost resistant algae which conducts its metabolic functions and reproduces only during thaws. With limited exceptions, imported organisms exist only where artificially sustained, and minor bush wars over livestock are frequent. 4125 - Goodworld Sector Goodworld is the oldest of the Doorish colony systems, having been settled perhaps as early as 2100. Although it was eclipsed for economic reasons by Greensky after the hyperspace revolution, Goodworld was the target of the bulk of pre-hyper extrasolar sublight colonization. Observations from Oldworld suggested that the Goodworld system was highly likely to have at least one planet with a habitable biosphere, and being the closest such system to Oldworld, it was a favored target of those willing to launch themselves into the void on a chance. Colonization efforts centered on Goodworld intensified dramatically in the last few decades of the pre-hyper colonization boom, as by 2150 distinctly Doorish radio signals emanating from Goodworld indicated the success of earlier efforts. As the name suggests, Goodworld indeed had a highly habitable planet, complete with a robust native ecosystem. The economy of Goodworld itself is primarily agricultural, as the planet is relatively mineral-poor. Only minor efforts were required to render native plants agriculturally viable, and Goodwolder products are dietary staples throughout the Region, both imported as luxuries and (more frequently) artificially produced or raised throughout the polity. The economic locus of the sector lies elsewhere in the Goodworld system, amongst the myriad orbital stations, mining outposts, and slipways that litter the system's asteroids, rocky planets, moons, and Lagrange points. The planet itself is largely perceived by the Doorish as a bucolic paradise inhabited by bumpkins, a perception reinforced by the archaic dialects kept fresh by the regular influx of immigrants borne by incoming sleeper ships launched generations ago. The reality, of course, is not quite so rosy, as the mineral poverty of the world and economic impracticality of large-scale agricultural export lend life on Goodworld a medieval quality. Compounding the relative poverty-in-goods of Goodworld is the looming population crisis, as Goodworld's population is fast rising past the capacity of its infrastructure to support. 4224 - Damp Sector The Damp Sector is the newest Doorish colony sector, and was settled entirely post-hyper. The star Damp orbits is extremely young, still in the process of condensing the diffuse nebula that preceded it. It was this nebula that concealed the existence of Damp from observation by Oldworld astronomers. Discovered only in 2210 by a survey team collecting data on star formation, Damp's very existence is an anomaly and a source of consternation to Doorish scientists. Generally believed to have been a rogue planet captured by the protostar a scant few million years ago, Damp's actual age is difficult to estimate. Virtually no radioactive elements exist below the first few inches of Damp's crust, although the atmosphere and oceans abound with them. Damp itself is mostly oceanic, although the size of its landmasses fluctuates dramatically over its local year as Damp's highly elliptical orbit brings it either towards or away from its sun and icepacks expand and recede. As a rule of thumb, generally around 90% of Damp is covered with ocean. Unconducive to settlement as Damp is, its location orbiting a still-forming star make it the center of a system-wide hydrogen/helium/radioisotope industry serving the Doorish regions as a whole. The hand of the Cartel is felt far more directly on Damp than on more typical Doorish worlds, as its small terrestrial population and supreme importance to Cartel interests make it a necessary exception to the Cartel's laissez faire approach to planets. Indeed, despite the obvious economic opportunities represented by Damp, it's unlikely that any permanent settlement would ever have been established there without Cartel intervention. The vast majority of Damp's terrestrial population are Oldworld born sleeper immigrants, having come to Damp only in 2231, when the Cartel, desiring a colony on Damp to support the system's burgeoning space-borne gas mining industry, intercepted a sleeper ship bound for Sector 4221, retrofitted it with hyperdrives, and rerouted it to Damp, after the fashion of the settlement of Tidelock. Although generally less than enthused with their new home, famously described as, "Like Oldworld, but damp," the colonists largely accept that having been rerouted to Damp is preferable to the alternative—arriving unannounced in Iase space. The population of the space settlements is more varied, with populations derived from every Doorish world. 4124 - Tidelock Sector Like Damp, Tidelock exists as a colony due to Cartel intervention. Unlike the shanghaiïng of the Damp colonists, however, the sleeper immigrants of Tidelock arrived precisely where they intended to, merely a few centuries early. The first sleeper ship arrived in Tidelock system in 2212, a scant fifteen years after the end of the Cartel wars, after being retrofitted with hyperdrive in deep space by Cartel engineers; a major technical accomplishment at the time. Subsequent immigration has been through normal hyper-borne channels, and the remaining known sleeper ships bound for Tidelock have been left untampered with, to arrive when they arrive. Oldworld astronomers could be forgiven for thinking Tidelock a likely paradise world, given its orbital characteristics and the yellow star it orbits. It was only its distance and the danger inherent in a journey of centuries that kept Tidelock from becoming a more popular colonial destination than it was. As might be deduced by the name, however, Tidelock is only habitable in a narrow strip around its circumference. Tidelock's tidelock is less problematic than it sounds, however. While the bulk of the planet's water is in the form of ice on the dark side, much of it is in the form of glaciers within a few degrees of the sunline, where it precipitates out of wind coming from the sun side, making it readily accessible to the colonists. Further, Tidelock sports a relatively narrow but viable and stubborn ecosystem built around the symbiotic relationship of small plants at the edge of the sun side and a variety of relatively desert-adapted animals that regularly travel into the dark side to chew ice for water when not enough can be found in the temperate strip. While scientists debate how this system developed, it does serve the purpose of keeping the habitable zone relatively wet. Though a relatively young colony, Tidelock has shown considerable growth. While not precisely the most pleasant place to live, and subject to weather almost as extreme as Oldworld's, having a reliable and abundant source of solar energy so close to an inexhaustable heat sink makes Tidelock one of the most cost-efficient industrial sites in the Regions. While initial capital outlay is expensive, since dozens of miles of wire and ducting are necessary to take advantage of both the sun and dark sides, running costs are extraordinarily low by Doorish standards, and Tidelock has become in recent years a major source of durable goods, fed by both terrestrial and space mining in its system, and in turn feeding the regions as a whole with everything from computer components to fine cutlery. Category:Doorish